Master Plan
by Lucifer's Garden
Summary: His methods may be extreme, but you've got to hand it to Scorpius - he certainly knows how to get a girl's attention. Scorpius/Rose two-shot, T for language
1. Chapter 1

**Trademark **_**Harry Potter**_** characters, locations, and ideas are the sole property of Ms. JK Rowling – I'm just taking them for a spin! **

Okay, the plot bunny went a little crazy with this one. The idea hit me out of nowhere and I couldn't rest until I got it all down on paper. It was supposed to be a one shot but it got way too long to contain in a single post, so I split it into two parts. Feedback is always appreciated, but I had an absolute blast writing it and I hope you all enjoy reading!

000

_It's easy to fall in love  
>When you fall in love you know you're done<br>You got easy eyes to hunt  
>And the world above needs your blood<br>In the cold veins of the richest man  
>He'll pay your way to steal her hand<em>

"Ain't No Easy Way" – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club_  
><em>

_**Master Plan**_

**Part One**

" – so like I told Emily, there's no _way_ I can convince Albus to let her try out as a Beater, not after what happened last year. I'm pretty sure Luke still has a scar on his face from – well, you were there for that match, I'm sure you remember perfectly well how that went. She's not that big, but Em's got a mean right arm, I swear. Don't know where she gets it from."

She finally paused for breath – she being sixteen-year-old Rose Weasley, one of Hogwarts' top students (second only to her gifted younger brother Hugo), prefect, beloved niece of the famous Boy Who Lived – and Scorpius Malfoy – also sixteen, also a top student and prefect – allowed himself a thin smirk.

Which she failed to notice, because it was dark and because she had already resumed her monologue about . . . well, he wasn't quite sure anymore. He had more or less stopped paying attention after the first five minutes of their patrol, though his silence only seemed to encourage her to keep going. And going. And _going._

"But then she got all weepy-eyed and gave me that_ look_ she has – you know the one? Well, probably not, I don't think you two have ever actually – anyway, she pulled that on me and I couldn't just . . . you know, leave it at that, especially since I still owe her for lending me twelve sickles to buy a new hairbrush after Lily _ruined_ my last one with those stupid knots in her hair. I know she's an incurable tomboy, which I normally love, but I swear, I was about _this close_ to chopping off every last strand on her head so I could use them to knit her a bloody scarf. Or something. Anyway, what was I even talking about? Oh! Yeah, so I told Em I'd discuss Quidditch tryouts with Al –"

"You talk a lot when you're nervous," he finally said, cutting in with practiced ease.

Her head whipped around to fix him with a bewildered look. "What? No I don't. And I'm not nervous. That's ridiculous, there's nothing to be nervous about. Why would I be nervous?"

Scorpius gave her a sidelong glance. "Because you're patrolling near the Forbidden Forest," he intoned ominously. "At night. Alone. With me."

She talked a lot in general, actually. He supposed it was just part of her charm, the way his was apparently the 'mysterious loner' type. He hadn't intended to fill that role, of course, having never been fond of clichés, but he was rather solitary for the most part, rarely speaking up class or participating in . . . anything, really. He actually didn't mind the label anymore. As it turns out, girls couldn't seem to get enough of it, especially after that unexpected growth spurt back in Fourth Year and his decision to let his hair grow out. Sure, they were mostly either afraid of him – indeed, that was probably part of the lure – or disgusted with themselves for stooping so low as to associate with a Malfoy. Thus his relationships tended to resemble little more than hushed, secretive flings that the girls would later deny ever happened.

It seemed, however, that there was a chatty, freckled, pretty little redheaded exception to the rule. One who had never exhibited any of the usual signs of interest, infatuation, fear, or disgust, but who already seemed comfortable enough in his presence to suggest that maybe, with time and persistence, he could . . . persuade her to see more in him than did the other girls.

But Malfoys are _notoriously_ impatient.

"Right, how could I forget?" she snorted, though she accompanied it with a smile. "I'm almost positive I can hear Al and my brother stalking us as we speak. When I told them I'd be making rounds with you tonight instead of Tereasa, Hugh insisted that I take along a string of garlic to 'ward you off'. His words, not mine. Apparently you're Hogwarts' very own vampire."

He shot her a quizzical look. "He does realize that I walk around during the day, right? Most vampires tend not to do that. You know, because of the whole 'burst into flames and die a horrible, agonizing death' thing."

"He's convinced you've found a way around that little rule," she wryly informed him.

This time he let out a small laugh – or at least, his minimal version of it. "That must be why he hissed 'Daywalker!' at me in the hallway this morning. I wondered what that was all about."

Rose laughed too, albeit somewhat sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry. His imagination tends to run away on him, sometimes. A lot, actually. I keep waiting for him to outgrow it, but he's fourteen now and if anything it's just getting worse."

"That's the burden of genius," he reminded her with a fluid shrug. "It comes with a price."

"Insanity?"

"Well, I wasn't going to say it. But yeah, insanity."

She laughed again, and he wondered if it was always this easy to amuse her or if she was just grateful for the distraction. Not for the first time, he caught her pulling her stylish blue poncho a little more tightly around herself, though it was barely mid October and the nights weren't all that cold yet. He hadn't bothered with anything heavier than a grey jumper with a long sleeved shirt underneath and a pair of black slacks. Growing up in a drafty old manor house meant that the cold had never really bothered him. They were technically supposed to be wearing their school robes, since they were on 'duty', but few professors saw the need to enforce this particular rule with any real urgency after hours.

His eyes drifted past her wavy mop of red hair, landing on the line of tall black trees not twenty yards to their right. The name 'Forbidden Forest' was no coincidence, and it wasn't completely unheard of for some of its bolder residents to venture onto school grounds from time to time. Despite various wards set up to keep them at bay, students have, in the past, come face to face with a few nasties. Fortunately such incidents hadn't happened in a number of years, but really, one could never be too careful.

Her sudden shiver brought his eyes swiftly back down to her, noting with vague surprise that they were already near Hagrid's hut. No lights flickered in the windows, as the giant gamekeeper – now well into his old age, his beard almost completely laced through with grey – had taken to going to bed earlier in the evenings.

"I wish I hadn't gone and lost my bloody wand," she grumbled, folding her arms over her chest. "This place is creepy at night, especially with the full moon."

"Does that happen often?"

"What, the full moon?" she spluttered incredulously.

"Losing things," he amended, a slanted grin flickering across his face.

Rose smiled ruefully. "Only all the time. But I'm usually pretty good about keeping my wand close at hand. I've only misplaced it a few times that I can remember, and _never_ before a night patrol near the Forbidden Forest. I mean, of all places, really."

"Are you actually that worried? Nothing exciting ever happens around here," Scorpius remarked, sounding almost sullen about it.

Rose scoffed. "I don't think getting mauled by a blood-sucking bugbear is _really_ anyone's idea of 'exciting'."

"And I always thought you Gryffindors are supposed to be brave," he drawled, fighting to keep from smiling at the affronted look she gave him.

"Being brave and having a death wish are two completely different things," she retorted, though he could see her mouth twitching rebelliously towards a grin of her own. "Anyway, I thought Slytherins are . . . you know, _selective_ about courting danger."

"We are," he assured her. Then, with a decidedly wicked gleam in his eye, he leaned a bit more towards her and added, "Unless, of course, the payoff is worth the risk."

Something about the way he said that last part made her glance his way again and regard him a great deal more closely than before. She opened her mouth to reply, before suddenly halting in mid step and whirling around to stare at something beyond Hagrid's pumpkin patch.

Scorpius stopped as well. "What is it?"

"I just," she began, then paused. She took a step towards the tree line and squinted through the gloom. "I thought I heard something."

"Like what?" he asked, coming to stand next to her with his wand held aloft for more light.

"I'm not sure. Sounded like . . . breathing."

He gave her a somewhat smug look. "Right. Very funny." The smugness faltered a little at the entirely serious expression on her face. "You're . . . not being funny, are you."

Frowning and shrugging a little, she said, "It was probably nothing." She still wasn't moving, however, and stayed peering through the trees with lingering unease.

"Best we move on then," Scorpius suggested, clearing his throat.

"Yeah," she replied absently. This time she did actually turn back to resume walking next to him, but she threw another glance over her shoulder as she went. "But I could have sworn I –"

She cut herself off, and this time Scorpius whirled around as well to stare at the looming trees. "All right," he said, "I heard it that time too."

For a moment Rose stood absolutely still, before she drew herself up and called, "Al, Hugo, if this is your idea of a joke, it is seriously not funny and _don't_ think I won't dock Gryffindor points for this!"

In the trees, the breathing abruptly went still.

"I-I mean it," Rose went on, with somewhat less bravado. "Detention as well . . ."

She was answered by a low throaty growl.

"And . . . and I'll write Mum and Aunt Gin about it . . ."

Scorpius reached out to grab her arm and began slowly backing up. "Whatever it is," he said, "it's getting closer."

"There are wards," she whispered back, sounding almost desperate. "There are bloody wards all over the school, nothing can get past them that doesn't belong – _oh God_."

Scorpius stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at the werewolf emerging through the tree line, no more than twenty yards away.

It appeared in one powerful leap out into the open, landing on its gangly legs with surprising grace. Huge, black or grey in colour – impossible to tell in the dark – its shoulders were hunched forward with a purpose, its upper canines long enough to protrude almost below its bottom jaw. The beast slowly padded to the side with its head low to the ground in an unmistakably predatory fashion. Trying to circle them, moving gradually but deliberately in a wide arc, its pale eyes fixed unblinkingly on the stricken prefects.

"The wards," Rose said again, her voice coming out in a high whisper. "Th-they should . . . sense it. _Someone_ will sense it and come for us."

Scorpius shook his head once, sharply. "Not soon enough," he said through tight lips. He then looked down and realized vacantly that now it was she holding him fast, fingers digging painfully into his arm.

The werewolf's thick pink tongue ran over its fangs as it drew closer.

"What happens if we run?" Scorpius murmured out the side of his mouth, never once blinking or tearing his gaze away from the advancing creature. But of course, he knew the answer to that already.

"It'll charge," Rose replied shakily. She didn't need to bother adding _and we've got only one wand and no cover._

Scorpius licked his lips, unwittingly copying the wolf's previous gesture, and stepped forward with his wand held out ahead.

Rose was so surprised that her grip fell away from his arm almost immediately. She lashed out to grab him again but he was already out of reach, and she seemed unable or willing to actually move from her spot to go after him.

The wolf paused and lifted its head, nosing the air to catch Scorpius' scent.

"What are you _doing?_" Rose hissed.

"We can't run, you said it yourself," he replied in a surprisingly steady tone. "And we sure as hell can't stare at it all night."

"So just what the hell are you planning to do, exactly?"

The wolf was no longer attempting to circle them, and was now gazing directly at the young man with clear intent in its eyes. It knew a confrontation when it saw one, and seemed eager to answer it.

Scorpius actually shrugged. "I don't know. Show it who's in charge? Isn't that how you deal with disobedient dogs?"

Behind him, he could almost hear her grappling with the urge to stomp her foot. "_This isn't some bloody pissed off poodle in case you hadn't fucking noticed!_"

Her outburst triggered in the werewolf a sudden, almost supernaturally fast lunge forward, rapidly closing the gap between itself and Scorpius. Its wide paws tore noiselessly through the grass, sending up a rain of soil along the way.

Rose shrieked reflexively, but Scorpius remained where he was and shouted, "_Impedimenta_", jabbing his wand forward in one smooth thrust.

The beast lurched to an awkward but immediate halt, stumbling forward as its forelegs suddenly locked up while the back legs kept going. It nosedived into the dirt with a muted grunt, followed by a furious growl as it tried to stand up once more. Its front legs, however, remained paralyzed and seemingly frozen to the ground.

"There," Scorpius declared, lowering his wand and turning around to smirk at Rose. "That wasn't so –" His eyes widened and his wand slashed upwards again. "DOWN!"

Her knees seemed to give out beneath her much like the werewolf's. She instantly dropped and rolled to the side, narrowly missing the massive swinging claws of the second wolf that had materialized behind her without a sound. Instead it snagged her poncho and tore it clean off, as though it was nothing more than tissue paper.

Scorpius didn't even have time to utter an incantation, but his wand reacted with a will of its own. The beast rearing over Rose released a howl of pain as it was knocked several meters backward, thrown by some invisible concussion of energy that tangibly rippled the air.

Rose scrambled upright and dashed to Scorpius' side, where he stood breathless and pale in wonderment at his own power. He had never performed wandless magic like that before, not with such speed and force.

The second werewolf was already lumbering to its feet, teeth bared in rage. Hackles bristling, it leered at them and began taking measured, deliberate steps forward.

"Hagrid," Rose exclaimed suddenly, as though the thought struck her like lightening. She and Scorpius immediately began inching their way towards the half-giant's cabin, when yet another wolf loped into sight from around the side of the building and came to a skittering halt directly between them and the front door. This one was somewhat smaller than the first two, but trembled with barely-restrained energy and an obvious lust for the hunt now taking place. It eyed the two humans with fierce anticipation, occasionally darting a glance at its two companions to gage their positions.

"Merlin," Rose quailed, hastily backing up, "three of them?"

"An actual pack," Scorpius remarked, sounding almost intrigued. "They don't normally hunt humans, do they? At least not for food . . ." He trailed off a little and allowed the unspoken words to settle in the air between them. _This is for fun, not survival._ Perhaps the first two were teaching the little one about hunting, or initiating it somehow.

Rose paled a little. "What the hell are they even doing this close to the castle? The wards –"

"Forget the fucking wards, will you?" he snapped, glancing hastily over his shoulder to see if the first wolf had recovered. Sure enough, it was lurching upright again and seemed to be gaining mobility in its front legs.

"Shit," Rose uttered, "shit, shit, shit – run!"

"Run? I thought you said –"

"I KNOW WHAT I BLOODY SAID JUST RUN YOU IDIOT!" She was already bolting, heading – of all places – into the Forbidden Forest.

**Part Two coming soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Master Plan**_

**Part Two  
><strong>

Scorpius and the werewolves stood blinking after her for a second before the Slytherin prefect swore violently under his breath and took off in her direction, racing past the tree line and disappearing into the forest's perpetual gloom.

He heard the wolves hastening behind him, having recovered from their surprise at the abrupt flight of their targets. Feet pounding almost in a blur, he quickly caught up to Rose's retreating form and planted a hand on the small of her back to push her onward. The beasts could have easily overtaken them at this point, with their garishly long limbs and powerful muscles, but they were enjoying this too much. Their vicious snarls had turned into barks and yips of pleasure, thrilled on the most primal level by the chase itself.

The ground rose and fell beneath them like solid waves on a motionless sea, swathed in fog that glowed incandescently in the moonlight. Breath exploded from their lungs in twin wisps, twigs snapped underfoot and branches were shoved unceremoniously aside as they tore through the tall dark trees. In the back of his mind, Scorpius was impressed that Rose could keep up with him so well. He barely had to press her on in the slightest, and most of his attempts left him grasping at the air in her wake. He had seen her jogging around the lake during her free time on occasion, so there was no questioning her stamina, but he had never envisioned her moving with such unfettered speed. She leapt like a deer over fallen logs and troublesome gullies, even using the odd tree or boulder as a jump off point to launch herself forward with even more momentum.

Behind them, he could hear the wolves fanning out now. Their yips had died down to concerted pants and grunts, focusing only on wearing down their prey. No need to rush them just yet, not when they still had so much fight left in them. Better to exhaust them to an inevitable collapse, so that when the time to strike came they would meet no resistance.

Their sudden quiet prompted Scorpius to throw a few hurried hexes over his shoulder, though he dared not look back to see if or how many actually landed true. All he heard were a few growls and whines as the wolves swerved to dodge the incoming spells, some landing too close for comfort and even grazing them along the way. It wasn't much, but it was enough just to keep them at bay, no matter how fleetingly.

The pursuit seemed to stretch on forever, but in reality it was probably less than a few minutes until –

_There_.

"This way," he breathed, veering to the right. Rose pivoted artfully and followed him into a winding trench, where a few older trees and boulders had amassed in a pile after what appeared to have been a small landslide some time ago. The trees had fallen together like logs in a fireplace, propped up at awkward angles with the fractured boulders that had been dragged down in their midst.

Scorpius reached the jumbled construct first, but whirled around to usher Rose in ahead of him. He shoved her with little ceremony into a narrow opening between two thick trunks, leading to a hollow space backed by a natural depression in the trench wall. She slipped in and immediately turned to drag him in alongside her, crying out in fear as an enormous paw snaked in after him. Its claws snagged his shirt and ripped the back open, missing his skin by a fraction of a hair. He grunted and fell on top of Rose, grabbing her around the waist and rolling them both out of reach. The beast snarled in frustration as it thrashed it forearm around, too big by far to squeeze in past its shoulder.

Now facing the opening with his back to the far wall, Rose still clutched in his arms with her face pressed to his chest, Scorpius eyed the wolf with grit-toothed determination and aimed his wand square at its face.

"_Incendio!_" he intoned, narrowing his eyes against the sudden blinding light of the flames that ejected from his wand.

The wolf yelped piercingly and fell back, and the air became rank with the smell of singed fur. It shook itself and pawed plaintively at its snout while the other two commenced looking for another way in. Their weight on the fallen logs caused the shelter to groan and sag as they searched every crack and niche they could find. Curtains of grit and dirt rained down on the two prefects, neither of whom were willing to risk so much as a cough in response.

A heartbeat later the flames died down, leaving the inside of the shelter completely pitch black. Scorpius blinked rapidly in the dark to try and adjust his vision, but for a few tense seconds he could see literally nothing but the darting shadows of the wolves in the moonlight outside. He heard them snuffling, clawing and growling, but he could not escape a suddenly powerful awareness of Rose's body pressed against his in seemingly airtight alignment. There was so little room to maneuver without straying within reach of those paws, and the cherry blossom scent of her perfume – or was it shampoo? – clouded his nostrils, making his head swim. Her hot, rapid breath washed over his collarbone and sent a wave of electricity rippling down his spine, prompting an involuntary shiver that was almost a spasm. If she noticed it she refrained from commenting, but she was so busy trembling herself, likely freezing without her poncho and still running almost entirely on adrenaline. He could literally feel her heart hammering against his, and her frame was so light in the crook of his arm that he almost couldn't believe this was the same girl who had outrun fucking _werewolves_ with him just now.

"Here," she breathed suddenly, shifting in the dark to grab his wand. He complied mutely, only just now able to see the curved outline of her figure as his eyes grew accustomed to the dark. Pointing the wand up towards the low, half hazard ceiling above them, she whispered "_Cave Inimicum_" before returning it to his palm. The shelter seized up as if it were a living thing clenching every muscle, and the wolves released a chorus of enraged yowls. Every opening shrank to nearly paper-thin slits, swamping the two prefects in further blackness. Access – and therefore escape – was impossible now.

"Nicely done," Scorpius murmured, letting his head fall back to the soft dirt with a gusty sigh.

He felt Rose relax a fraction, laying her head down to rest next to his as well. Apparently the idea of pulling away from him, now that it was safer to do so, had yet to occur to her.

"Thanks." She then twisted a little as if to face him, useless as it was in the dark. "Now what? Wait until they get bored and wander off?"

He shrugged a little. "Not much else we can do," he reasoned. "I don't think they're hungry, though, so it shouldn't be too long."

They fell silent then, listening to the werewolves fiercely attempting to breach their way in. Their aggravated growls eventually turned into almost piteous whines, like pups deprived of a favourite toy.

"That was really brave of you, by the way."

Scorpius nearly jumped at her words, unprepared for the closeness of her voice in his ear. "What?"

He felt her smile against him, hands still bunched in the fabric of his jumper. "Earlier, when you stared down the first wolf. Right before you paralyzed it?" she reminded him. "And then when you saved me from getting my guts ripped out by the second one. I was too busy squealing like a useless damsel, but you . . . well, actually, it was rather _Gryffindor_ of you."

Despite himself he managed a small, airy laugh. "Right. Try not to describe it that way to any Slytherins, will you? I doubt I'd ever live it down. And besides, I bet you'd have done the same thing if you had a wand."

She sighed a little and busied herself getting more comfortable against him, and for a few seconds he entirely forgot the three monsters circling them outside. "Maybe," she conceded, though not sounding terribly convinced. "But I'm just saying. Thank you. If it wasn't for you I'd have been torn to pieces and Merlin knows what else by now."

He attempted a weak half shrug without disturbing her use of him as a makeshift pillow. "Well, you were the one with the balls to run into the Forbidden Forest. I'm pretty sure that's what saved our lives in the end."

"Are you mad?" Rose spluttered. "There are loads more dangerous things in this place than bloody werewolves, it's a miracle I didn't get us both killed!"

"I had no idea Gryffindors were so modest," he remarked dryly.

"We have to be," she drawled. "With all this bravery swimming in our veins, we need modesty to keep our heads from swelling to simply unlivable sizes."

"Head swelling? Hmm. Sounds useful. We could have used you as an escape balloon."

"Except I think I occupy the more 'modest' and of the spectrum instead of brave," she sighed, sounding rather dejected about it all of a sudden.

"Cut it out," he admonished her. "You were brilliant. You kept up and didn't trip over any tree roots. Relish the small victories. And besides, the next time we patrol by the forest, you'll probably have your wand handy and we won't have to worry about a thing."

Rose lifted her head in the dark to gaze pointedly at him. "We're not patrol partners, remember? Not really, anyhow. Tereasa got sick, that's all."

Scorpius held her gaze with as much confidence as he dared show.

"Well, then she's just going to have to stay sick for a very long time, isn't she."

He could almost envision a blush creeping into her cheeks, but there was no mistaking the way she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling too widely. She rolled all the way onto her stomach, now half on top of him while maintaining playfully stern eye contact.

"Scorpius –"

"Rose," he countered, with matching mock severity.

" – I hope you're not wishing poor health on my friend and fellow prefect in the hopes of a repeat of tonight?"

"Not at all!" he protested, propping himself up on his elbows. "And frankly I resent the accusation." He paused, and then flashed his most charming smile. "I was just about to suggest actively poisoning her."

She cocked her head to the side, still regarding him with barely contained amusement. "Are you always this romantic, or am I just special?"

Something about his smile switched, becoming perfectly Slytherinesque. "Care to find out?"

000

In a clearing not far away, three miserable-looking Fifth Year Slytherins sat shivering in wait. They had dressed hastily in the dark, having located their stash of clothes and shoes, but the night was fast becoming colder than any of them had anticipated. One of them sported a fresh, bright red burn blister on the bridge of his nose and was busy trying various healing charms on himself to try and alleviate the stinging pain, cursing with every failed attempt. The boy next to him was wrapping a conjured bandage around his forearm, muttering under his breath. Another boy, much smaller and skinnier than the other two but the only one who didn't appear physically harmed, glanced around nervously and jumped at every noise and shadow.

"Where the fook _is_ he?" he demanded in a high, pinched voice.

"Off collecting our galleons, I hope," the burnt one replied waspishly. "I that prick thinks he can throw hexes at us for nothing, I will kick him so hard in the balls that he'll be coughing up little black curlies until next semester."

"No you won't," the bandaged boy snorted. "And besides, 'Malfoys always keep their word', remember? He'll pay us."

"Right, 'cause Malfoys are _so_ famous for being trustworthy."

The skinny boy reached up to scratch an imaginary flea from his head. "Bollocks, all me senses are buzzin'. How long 'til the potion wears off? Feels like I still got fookin' _fur_ e'rywhere."

"That's just nerves," the calmer one assured him. "We've been looking like proper human lads for a few minutes now. No more Fido in any of us, just like he promised." After a moment of reflection, he couldn't resist adding, "Impressive Polyjuice, though. Wonder where he got the hair samples from, anyhow? I mean, that was some real werewolf shit we pulled for a bit there."

"What the fuck does it matter?" the first boy snapped. "He coulda plucked 'em from Fenrir Greyback's moldy arse for all I care, I just want my fifty galleons."

"Once he's done shagging the Weasley girl over there, we'll all get ours. For the performance we gave, I wager he'll even throw in a bonus."

The skinny boy tore his gaze from a particularly threatening-looking bush and gave his housemate a skeptical look. "Come off it, Rose Weasley en't like that."

"Well, they _are_ taking a long time over there, like you said."

"Yeah, but she's . . . I dunno, d'you really think she'd give it up that quick? To a guy like Malfoy? I mean, en't she still a virgin an' all? Probably why he's so after her in the first place. Maybe they're snogging, or something, but –"

"He fought off bloody _werewolves_ for her, what else is it gonna take?"

"No he fucking didn't," the boy with the blister exclaimed, jumping to his feet to pace around agitatedly, "he fought _us_ off and made her _think_ it was fucking werewolves so that she'd actually notice him for once and call him a fucking hero and he could stop mooning after her in secret like he's fucking Heathrow from _Wuthering Heights_ or some pathetic shite and actually work up the fucking nerve to ask her out like a real man instead of –"

The bandaged boy frowned and cut him off. "Who's Heathrow?"

"Heathcliff."

The arrival of a fourth voice made all three heads snap around to locate the source.

"W-what?" the blistered boy stammered.

"Heathcliff," Scorpius repeated matter-of-factly, currently in the process of tying back his ruffled-looking blond hair as he approached the trio. His jumper was slung haphazardly over one shoulder, and he seemed unmindful of the night's chill. In fact, there was a distinct tinge of colour in his otherwise uniform pallor – underneath the dirt smudges, that is. "That's the character's name, Rowely. From _Wuthering Heights?_ If you're going to compare me to the brooding, sociopathic leading man in a dark Muggle romance, at least get the name right."

Blinking, Rowely managed to regain some of his bravado and folded his arms over his chest. "Great. Thanks for the tip."

The bandaged one gave them both a suspicious look. "What do either of you know about Muggle literature?"

Scorpius' grey eyes darted towards him. "I had Rowely here do a little research to find out what Rose likes to read," he explained. "Conversation starters, and the like."

"Right," the boy mused aloud, taking in the prefect's rumpled clothes and disheveled hair. "Must have been a nice 'conversation' you two were having just now."

He smiled back in a noncommittal fashion, revealing nothing. "I suppose it was."

"You didn't happen to find fifty galleons in her knickers, did you?" Rowely intercepted impatiently. "Because that's more or less where my interest in _this _conversation ends. Permanently."

Scorpius' eyes sharpened on him. "Careful, Rowely," he warned flatly, all traces of amusement gone. "I didn't set all this up just for a shot at getting _laid_. This is different. _Rose_ is different, and if I hear you talking about her with anything but complete respect, I will personally feed you piece by piece to the Giant Squid. He and I have formed quite a rapport over the years, and trust me – he's not very picky."

Even from ten yards away, he managed to make the other boy wilt a little on the spot. "Right, right, whatever. I just want what's mine, after you nearly blasted my bloody nose off back there."

Smiling almost fondly at the recollection, Scorpius nodded to a hollowed out tree trunk at the other end of the clearing. "One hundred fifty galleons, all lying in wait for you. Well done boys, you played your parts beautifully. Apologies if I got a little . . . in character. Had to make it look real, after all."

"So it all worked, then?" the skinny boy piped up. "You an' Rose are . . . you know . . ."

Scorpius' smile turned a little more genuine. "It's a start. A good one."

"Well, you _are_ gonna see 'er again, eh?" the young one persisted, grinning from ear to ear.

"Of course. I saved her from bloody werewolves, didn't I?"

The three boys exchanged knowing looks at that, before Rowely headed over to the trunk to retrieve the sack of coins.

"Where is she, anyhow?" he asked over his shoulder. "Hope you didn't leave her in your little love nest back there. This is still the Forbidden Forest, you know."

"I walked her back to the Gryffindor tower. Sorry to keep you lads waiting, but, you know . . . had to be a gentleman."

"How did you know she'd run into the forest, anyhow?" the skinny boy asked.

"Logistics," Scorpius replied with a breezy shrug. "You successfully blocked Hagrid's cabin and the castle was too far away. In a panic, she went for the option most likely to provide some cover – hence, the forest. All I had to do was guide her to our, ah, 'love nest' as you called it, Rowley, but the rest was mostly her instincts kicking in."

"Explain to me again why you couldn't just ask her for a drink in Hogsmeade?" the boy with the bandage asked, shaking his head at it all. "Why the charade? You've made her think you're this dashing hero type, when really you're just a scheming bastard who tricked her into thinking she could be dog food. If she finds out you were behind it –"

The look he received was perfectly innocent. "Well, Thatcher, she's not going to find out. Part of your payment covers secrecy, remember?"

"Yeah, but –"

"And besides, if she _does_ find out, it will only show her how much trouble I went to just to get her attention. Wowing her with spontaneous heroics is one thing, but the fact that I am so awed by her beauty and brains and spirit that I had to resort to ridiculous means to impress her?" He grinned contentedly. "Girls love emotionally complicated guys. We're much more interesting."

"Right," Thatcher granted, "but still . . . werewolves?" 

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Knockturn Alley was fresh out of centaur hairs."

"Either way, deal's done," Rowely called, returning with a spring in his step. He tossed the bag in the air and caught it deftly as he made his way back to the group. "Big happy ending for everyone. We even got a nice bonus, lads! Fifty extra galleons for all our hard work."

Scorpius fell in step with them as they headed back towards the tree line. "That's actually Tereasa's cut. She wasn't too happy about having to lie to Rose, but when I explained my plan to her, she seemed to think it was 'way romantic' and agreed to go along with it."

"Fifty galleons just to fake sick?" Rowely objected. "Hang on, us three had to drink that disgusting sludge, run through the Forbidden fucking Forest – at _night_ – and get hexed half to death to earn ours!"

"Don't be so dramatic," Scorpius scoffed. "And besides, Tereasa didn't just lie – she's the one who . . . ah, _borrowed_ Rose's wand. Temporarily. And it's up to her to figure out how to return it without getting caught. I figured compensation was in order."

"Seriously, Malfoy" Thatcher sighed as they headed back towards the tree line, "there's got to be an easier way to get a girl to notice you."

"If I wanted easy, I wouldn't want Rose," Scorpius countered swiftly. "And besides – the risk is worth the payoff."

END


End file.
